5/05/2011

Chicken and Spinach Tortilla Pie with a Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Whenever I make burritos, I am always left with one tortilla. Of course I could use it for an after school snack or a quesadilla, but when I came across this recipe inspiration, that leftover tortilla got a whole new meaning.

I found this recipe in a Cook's Country magazine where the bottom layer or "crust" utilizes the lone tortilla. The original filling looked a bit bland to me, so I added onion, spinach, chiles, a few spices and some herbs. I serve it with a roasted tomatillo sauce and some Mexican crèma. Mmm--this is so good. It is creamy and cheesy with a little cracker-like snap when you cut through the tortilla crust.

So, if you have an extra burrito-sized tortilla hanging around, please make this. Otherwise, put a package of 10-inch burrito sized flour tortillas on your next grocery list and use the leftover nine tortillas for after school snacks, quesadillas, or weeknight burritos. This dish will not disappoint.

Preheat the oven to 450º F. Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick spray. Gently press the tortilla into the pie plate and lightly spray the tortilla with cooking spray. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté until soft and transluscent, about 10 minutes. Transfer the onions to a large bowl. Add the shredded chicken, spinach, chiles, cilantro, cumin, oregano, 1 cup of the cheese, and toss until combined. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, milk, flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the egg mixture to the chicken mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate and top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Slice into wedges and serve with the Roasted Tomatillo Salsa and dollops of crema or sour cream. Enjoy!

Preheat the broiler and position an oven rack int he highest position. Place the halved onions cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet along with the poblano, tomatillos, and garlic. Broil the vegetables, rotating as necessary until the skins have blistered and are slightly charred on all sides. Keep a close eye on them as the onions and garlic will cook faster than the pepper and tomatillos. Transfer the vegetables to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow them to cool until they can easily be handled. Remove the skin from the onion, trim the top and root end and roughly chop. Peel the garlic and chop. Rub the skins off the pepper, discard the stem and seeds and roughly chop. Place the onions, garlic, pepper, and tomatillos in a food processor and pulse until blended, but still chunky. Add the cilantro, lime juice, and salt, and pulse until desired consistency. Season with more salt and lime juice if needed. Enjoy!

17 comments:

Angela-Chihuahua cheese is a soft, cow's milk Mexican cheese It has a delicious buttery flavor and melts beautifully. Most supermarkets carry the cheese and you can also find it at ethnic grocery stores. This is the brand that I use http://www.vvsupremo.com/products/details.aspx?id=5If you can't find it, you can certainly use Monterey Jack instead.

Thanks for sharing! I made this this past weekend and it was great! I subbed in steak for the chicken and broccoli for the spinach (my other half is a big broccoli fan, as am I) and we both loved it! I do have a question - I baked it in a casserole dish and it was a little wet inside - is that how its supposed to come out? This was a bit deeper than a pie pan.

Jessie-I am glad you enjoyed it and I like how you made it your won with the steak and broccoli substitution. As far as the dish being "wet"-- mine comes out moist and cheesy. The extra moisture in yours could be from the broccoli since it isn't squeezed dry like the spinach.

It looks like you halved the milk/flour mixture from the original recipe. I was going to make the recipe from the magazine tonight and was just curious on your modification. Did you find there was too much batter for the filling? Or are you making an adjustment for the spinach you added?Thanks.

Jen-You are correct on both points. I wanted the chicken, spinach, and other added ingredients to come through in taste and not get lost in batter. Halving the milk/flour mixture gave the pie just the right amount of binder it needed.

Thanks! I made the pie last night with the reduced amt of batter and half the cheese and I thought it was great! Easy and tasty and I will keep it in mind for when I have leftover chicken and an extra tortilla. I may experiment with other flavors for the filling too.